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Fantasy (Earth, Wind & Fire song)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Fantasy
| cover = Fantasy EW&F.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Earth, Wind & Fire
| album = All 'N All
| B-side = Be Ever Wonderful (UK)
Runnin' (US)
| released = January 1978 (UK)
February 1978 (US)
| recorded = 1977
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
| length =
| label =
| writer =
| producer = Maurice White
| prev_title = Serpentine Fire
| prev_year = 1977
| next_title = Jupiter
| next_year = 1977
| misc =
}}
"'Fantasy'" is a song by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, which was issued as a single in 1978 by Columbia Records.
Overview
"Fantasy" was produced by Maurice White, who also composed the song with Eddie Del Barrio and Verdine White. The song took three months to compose, and was only finally finished after Maurice White saw and was inspired by the film 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'.
The US B-side of the single was a song called "Be Ever Wonderful", while the UK B-side was a song called "Runnin". "Fantasy", "Be Ever Wonderful", and "Runnin" were all featured on EWF's 1977 studio album 'All 'n All'.
Critical reception
Blues and Soul also declared that "Play it loud and it'll fill any dance floor". Joe McEwen of Rolling Stone wrote "The lyrics of Fantasy (Come to see, victory, in the land called fantasy) may be hard to swallow, but the music is as close to elegance as any funk song has come. Voices and a light touch of strings suddenly appear over a choppy, propulsive track, swell and swoop, only to disappear at the snap of a finger and pop up moments later for an exciting, powerful finale. White also utilizes an odd instrumental mix that gives equal emphasis to percussion (except the bass drum, which is usually played down), bass, rhythm guitars and stabbing, staccato horn bursts. The result is light but substantial, and its become a model for many other bands." Barry Cain of Record Mirror placed Fantasy as one of his four Records of the Week saying "Decontaminated warp factor three faar out felony with a smack of glossy metallic reverence, EW&F transcend the oft restricted peaks of disco into the realms of elaborate, effortless slices of electromania fused into chocolate box acceptance. They sure soar these boys, soaring on the soprano solitude of Maurice White, Mastermind, Mother and Despot." Alex Henderson of AllMusic also called Fantasy "dreamy".
"Fantasy" was nominated for a Grammy award in the category of Best R&B Song.
Appearances in other media
Fantasy appeared on the soundtrack of the 1981 feature film 'Private Lessons', the 1997 feature film 'The Sixth Man', the 2005 feature film 'Be Cool' and the 2006 video game 'Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories'. It also appears in the second season Bob's Burgers episode, "Bad Tina" (2012) and at the end of the 2020 Disney+ movie, 'Godmothered'.
Chart performance
The single reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot Soul Songs chart, No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 14 on the UK Singles chart.
After its release in Japan as a digital single to cellphones in 2009, it was certified gold for 100,000 downloads in May 2011.
Charts
Black Box version
{{Infobox song
| name = Fantasy
| cover = Fantasy_(song).jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Black Box featuring Martha Wash
| album = Dreamland
| B-side = Get Down
| released =
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = House
| length = 5:14
| label = RCA
| writer =
| producer =
| prev_title = Everybody Everybody
| prev_year = 1990
| next_title = The Total Mix
| next_year = 1991
| misc =
}}
In 1990, Italian group Black Box recorded a cover of "Fantasy" for their debut studio album, 'Dreamland' (1990). Their version featured Martha Wash on lead vocals, but their music producers initially failed to credit her. Black Box's version of the song charted at number five in the UK Singles Chart, number 16 in Germany, and number three in Australia. In 2013, Australian music channel Max included Black Box' version of the song in their list of "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Critical reception
Matthew Hocter from Albumism stated that the song is "sung to perfection" by Martha Wash, adding that it "put the band into a different lane. Doing the original version immense justice". Bill Coleman from 'Billboard' picked it as one of the "highlights" from the album. Another editor, Larry Flick described the track as a "sleaze-speed house rendition" and an "ethereal remix emphasizing plush strings and Martha Wash's unmistakable voice."Flick, Larry. "Single Reviews". 'Billboard'. p. 65. vol. 103. August 24, 1991. Also Ernest Hardy from 'Cashbox' chose the song as a "standout" from the album.On the single review, Alex Henderson and Bryan Devaney said it is "an example of dance music as it should bemoving, inspired, richly expressive. A belter, the big-voiced Martha Wash brings a great deal of emotion, depth and soul to this inspired remake." The Daily Vault's Michael R. Smith stated that it "sounds like a television theme song that you can't get out of your head." Chris Heath from 'Smash Hits' deemed it a "fairly faithful version" of Earth, Wind & Fire's disco classic.
Music video
The accompanying music video for "Fantasy" was directed by Neil Thompson.Track listings
* 'CD maxi and 12-inch maxi - Remixed'# "Fantasy" (club mix) 7:20
# "Get Down" Black Box featuring "Stepz" (rap mix) 6:43
# "Get Down" Black Box featuring "Stepz" (Rappapella) 3:00
* '7-inch single'
# "Fantasy" 3:44
# "Get Down" Black Box featuring "Stepz" (Rappapella) 3:00
* '7-inch single - Remixed'
# "Fantasy" (Remixed 7-inch) 3:44
# "Get Down" Black Box featuring "Stepz" (rap mix edit) 3:34
* 'CD maxi - Remixed'
# "Fantasy" (remixed 7-inch) 3:44
# "Get Down" Black Box featuring "Stepz" (rap mix) 6:43
# "Fantasy" (club mix) 7:20
* '12-inch maxi'
# "Fantasy" (Big Band remix) 5:48
# "Get Down" Black Box featuring "Stepz" (Party remix) 3:55
# "Get Down" Black Box featuring "Stepz" (Afro mix) 4:15
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
Category:1977 songs
Category:1978 singles
Category:1990 singles
Category:Black Box (band) songs
Category:Earth, Wind & Fire songs
Category:English-language Italian songs
Category:Songs written by Maurice White
Category:Columbia Records singles
Category:Polydor Records singles
Category:RCA Records singles
Category:Songs written by Verdine White
Category:Songs written by Eddie del Barrio
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